A Heart at Stake
by missvenita
Summary: Christine Daae has found herself in a difficult position. What will she do to get out of it? Where there is a winner, there must be a loser. Someone will die, but do not be fooled, it's not who you think ;


** _Hello readers! This story is dedicated to my best friend, and my beloved sister, BrideofPhantom. I put a lot of time and effort into this first chapter, since it is the first impression of my writing and the story itself. I hope you all enjoy! _********Read and send reviews, looking forward to your feedback! Happy Reading! :)**

"Yola"-Talking

_'Yola'-Thoughts_

**Translations:**

"Bienvenue! Christine, c'est un plaisir de vous revoir!" said Alain Ducasse, taking Christine's gloved hand into his own, and placing a chaste kiss upon it.

_-"Welcome! Christine, it's a pleasure to see you!_

"Merci beaucoup, monsieur. Je vous remercie de m'accueillir en personne." Christine smiled warmly at him as she retrieved her hand.

_- "Thank you very much, sir. Thank you for welcoming me in person."_

* * *

**xoxoXOXOxoxo**

Today was a perfect warm day with a cool breeze that would come and go ever so often. Christine Daae could be seen arriving at the Eiffel Tower south pillar section riding the private elevator to the restaurant that sat on the second floor of the tower. Le Jules Vernes Restaurant was her favorite restaurant in all of Paris. She preferred this restaurant rather than the other one that also resided in the Eiffel Tower, Le 58 Tour Eiffel was located on the 1st level of the tower, it was also the restaurant that was mainly packed with tourists all year 'round.

As Christine strode gracefully into the restaurant, she was welcomed warmly by the restaurant owner himself, Alain Ducasse.

"Bienvenue! Christine, c'est un plaisir de vous revoir!" said Alain Ducasse, taking Christine's gloved hand into his own, and placing a chaste kiss upon it.

"Merci beaucoup, monsieur. Je vous remercie de m'accueillir en personne." Christine smiled warmly at him as she retrieved her hand. She withheld a frivolous conversation, which ended abruptly due to an important phone call, much to Christine's relief. She always felt awkward whenever she was around Alain Ducasse. She didn't generally know as to why she felt this way, perhaps it was because he had a superiority to him that she felt quite insignificant in his presence, or it could be because he seemed to be interested in her for he sometimes would not let go of her hand.

Shrugging off her uneasiness, she was led to her seat by a handsome waiter, whom was quite disappointed to see she was having lunch with a male rather than a female. Nonetheless the waiter smiled warmly at her as he handed her the menu, but his face contorted to a fine line as he handed a menu to Christine's lunch partner, Viscount Raoul de Chagny. Raoul eyed the waiter suspiciously but turned to his lovely companion for the afternoon who was gazing out the window. As she felt his gaze on her, she turned to Raoul, Christine smiled at him lovingly as she opened her menu. He too opened his, but paused his actions.

"Christine, I believe I have not properly greeted you today." said Raoul with faux sadness laced in his words. Christine's gaze glanced upward to meet his, she smiled as she raised her still gloved hand. Raoul took her hand into his and placed a gentle but lingering kiss. Christine laughed lightly as she pulled back her hand.

"Men seem to have such an attraction to my new gloves." she said airily as she removed the gloves from her hands folding them neatly, and tucking them away in her purse. She returned to scanning the menu as Raoul beckoned for the waiter to bring them drinks.

"I'll have a Café au Lait, and Christine you will have-"

"Tisane, Chamomile please."

"I'll be right back with your drinks Mademoiselle, Monsieur." replied the waiter as he scurried off.

"Have you decided on what you will be having today my dear?" asked Raoul.

"Oh I'm not quite hungry really, but a simple meal will make do for the rest of my day." replied Christine, casually closing her menu and placing aside. Pausing, she looked up at him, narrowing her eyes. Raoul's smile faltered replaced by a confused face.

"You have not yet told me the reason as to why you wanted to urgently meet with me today. I've cancelled an important meeting to attend to you." answered Christine shooting him a look of annoyance.

Relieved to hear her answer, Raoul simply chuckled to himself. Christine's brow furrowed, clearly not understanding how what she had said would seem humorous.

"Christine, It's a surprise. I'm sure once you hear what I have to tell you, You will feel no remorse for canceling that meeting with whomever it was." Raoul composed himself once more, grinning widely at Christine, who rolled her eyes in return.

"You had better hope there is some truth to what you said."

"It will pay off my dear. No need to worry." Raoul once again gave Christine a crooked grin.

"In the long run I assume?" Christine sighed looking skeptical.

"Oh ho, not in the very least, no. It will be something you would be quite pleased to hear about. After all it is a girls dream come true."

Christine opened her mouth about to ask what he meant by that, but was interrupted by the waiter.

"Your drinks Mademoiselle, Monsieur. Have you decided what you would like to have this afternoon?" inquired the waiter as he placed their drinks accordingly on the table.

"I'll have the Meuniere Style Sole pelase!" answered Raoul, clearly pleased to have been interrupted for fear of interrogation by the woman across from him.

"And you Mademoiselle?" the waiter turning his attention to Christine who was staring blankly ahead trying to decipher what Raoul had said. Snapping out of her reverie she replied.

"A plate of Pan Seared Veal please." she handed the waiter her menu. Christine eyed Raoul. Inwardly wanting to smack her forehead, _'what have I gotten myself into?'_

_**xoxoXOXOxoxo**  
_

**25 miles southwest of Paris...**

A tall dark looming figure that was caped and wearing a hood over his masked face was silently pacing around the The Palace of Versailles. He was suppose to have met with a certain Christine Daae, but she had canceled their meeting yesterday, telling him something about a childhood friend of hers was in town for the time being, and wanted to see her, asking Christine to have lunch at some restaurant. At Le Jules Vernes no doubt, it was, after all, her favorite restaurant in all of Paris. She was such a terrible liar, it made him laugh at the mere thought of someone believing her lies. He smiled to himself, knowing that only _**he**_ knew when she lied, knew _**whom**_ she lied to, knew _**why**_she lied, and most importantly knew the _**truth**_ behind her phony little lies. He scowled remembering the truth of Christine's lie to him the previous day, he was not pleased with it at all. He had to take care of this problem as soon as possible. But alas, he would have to wait. Wait for the perfect timing when he could finally dispose of the problem that was in his way. Was he afraid of this problem? _'Afraid? The thought of me afraid is even more laughable than Christine's pitiful attempts at lying. No... I do not fear the problem. I have a dislike of the problem, thus why it must be disposed of. The sooner the better.'_

He circled the Palace once more before he began walking away from the palace. He would be traveling to Paris tonight.


End file.
